Saying farewell to 4 sons of Stinson

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, February 14, 1995

STINSON BEACH - They were true sons of Stinson, infused with an adoration of natural beauty and a penchant for sport.

On their last night, brothers James and Ian Duncan and buddy John Ely Kempf hopped into Kempf's truck and cruised

"over the hill" to shoot pool at the 2 A.M. Club in Mill Valley.

Another son of Stinson had also crossed the hill Friday night.

While Kempf and the Duncan boys ran racks, Matthew Perry was a few miles up the road in Tiburon, dancing to a band from Bolinas. Acquaintances believe he either walked or hitchhiked to the best spot for catching a ride up over the shoulder of Mount Tamalpais and down into Stinson Beach - right outside the 2 A.M. Club.

Inside, the young men were rising to leave. The doorman asked whether they were OK to travel. Did they need a taxi? Did they have a designated driver? They assured him they were fine.

Outside, they spotted their pal Perry, standing with his thumb in the air. He leaped into the cab of the truck, and they roared into the night. They would not be seen alive again.

On Monday, Elaine Brown-Schwartz drove the Duncan brothers' mother, Annie Duncan Leone of Florida, and several other relatives to the spot on Panoramic Highway near Alice Eastwood Camp Road where Kempf's truck plummeted down a 300-foot embankment Saturday, killing all four men. The California Highway Patrol says it doesn't know what caused the crash or even who was driving.

Brown-Schwartz, a friend of the victims, had previously escorted the grim party to the mortuary.

"We said goodbye to the boys," she recalled. "We went in and we saw them, and it was very, very painful."

Days after the wreck, a pall of pain hovered like a stubborn storm front over this quiet resort village in western Marin County. Residents said they had lost four model youths who embodied the defining values of Stinson Beach.

Well-liked brothers&lt;

The Duncan brothers were waiters by trade, volleyball and reggae fanatics by avocation. Kempf was a carpenter, accomplished surfer and avid photographer of sunset scenes. Perry was a versatile musician, painter and world vagabond.

"People really liked Jim," said Karen Garrett, manager of the Stinson Beach Grill, where James Duncan, 26, waited on tables. "He was a tall, gangly guy who smiled a lot, and he was really nice to people."

Ian Duncan, 28, had proved to be equally popular as a bartender at Il Fornaio restaurant in Corte Madera. "He had a little following," said manager Michael Tempest, describing the mixologist as "a spunky guy with a great attitude."

"The Duncan boys were most generous with their time with this group of younger kids," one local said. "They drove kids around the Bay Area to all sorts of volleyball tournaments."

Volleyball was a passion for the Duncan siblings. "We had an agreement," said Tom Horton, owner of the Stinson Beach Grill. James Duncan "never worked on Fridays or Saturdays because he used to play in volleyball tournaments on those days."

Both brothers were adopted. "They took young people around because their mother rescued them from orphanages and foster homes," Brown-Schwartz said. "They grew up to be the kind of men who would look after young people."

Did they have any love interests?

"As often as possible," Brown-Schwartz said with a giggle. "They'd like it if I said that."

Surfers to say goodbye&lt;

Twenty-three-year-old John Kempf - Ely to his friends - preferred surfing to volleyball. He traveled to Mexico in search of bigger waves. His mother, Diana Kempf Morell, said surfers were coming from as far as Jamaica and Costa Rica to attend a traditional surfer burial-at-sea ceremony next Friday at sunset.

While surfers ritually commend Kempf's ashes to the waves, she said, those on shore "will be praying together and trying to help his spirit be free."

Ely Kempf was born in a simple cottage high up on Mount Tamalpais. He was raised by free spirits who walked the Tam trails barefoot.

"He lived in the cabin for the first seven years of his life, and then we moved to Stinson Beach," Morell said.

"He started surfing really young, and he loved the ocean, and he loved the mountain."

Kempf often carried a Nikon camera, but was selective in his subjects. "His motto was no man-made objects," said his mother. "He photographed sunsets and visions of the skies. We made a calendar this Christmas and called it "Ely's Skies.' "

She said there were seminal plans to mount an exhibit of Kempf's photography at the Parkside Restaurant in Stinson Beach, where he once worked.

Kempf had learned carpentry. "He was a real good worker, real conscious of his surroundings," said his employer, Ray Burns. "It set well with the way he wanted to live his life; the schedule gave him a lot of freedom."

Kempf's alarm clock buzzed at 6:30 a.m. Monday, awakening Beate Klin, the girlfriend who shared his home. She hadn't figured how to turn it off.

"They were starting to build a life together," Morell said.

Traveling the world&lt;

Matthew Perry had impressed Stinson Beach residents with his record of achievements in 21 years. He had just returned from 18 months of travel and work in Brazil, and had previously visited Europe, Canada and Mexico.

Acquaintances described Perry as an accomplished painter of landscapes and portraits and a musician who wrote songs in two languages and played four instruments.

"I remember when he was in school, he was an excellent soccer and baseball player," said one Stinson resident.

"He was just a wonderful young boy."

Brown-Schwartz said Perry "was more a citizen of the world than of this little community." &lt;